- Vehicles
- 45
- Built between
- Jun 2005 – Jul 2005
- Models
- 4
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 23 June 2006
- Repaired
- Not reported
- Unrepaired
- Not reported
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between June 2005 and July 2005. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2004-2007 Thomas Built Buses FS-65Built June 2005 to July 2005
- 2004-2007 Thomas Built Buses HDXBuilt June 2005 to July 2005
- 2004-2007 Thomas Built Buses MinotourBuilt June 2005 to July 2005
- 2004-2007 Thomas Built Buses MVP-EFBuilt June 2005 to July 2005
What the defect is
Certain my 2004-2007 thomas built minotour, FS65, mvp-ef, and hdx model school buses, manufactured between june 16 and july 1, 2005, equipped with ricon wheelchair lifts. Cracks in the lift arms may allow the mechanism to twist during stowage, preventing closure of the safety interlock switches.
What could happen
In the event this condition occurs during passenger operations it may not be possible to close the lift door causing the vehicle interlocks to remain engaged preventing movement of the vehicle or the ability to load or unload passengers with disabilities from the vehicle.
What gets fixed
RICON IS CONDUCTING THIS RECALL (PLEASE SEE 06E008000) AND WILL REPLACE THE TWO VERTICAL ARMS EVEN IF ONLY ONE ARM IS CRACKED FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON MAY 30, 2006.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtJune 2005 to July 2005
- Recall reported to NHTSA3 May 2006
- Owners notified23 June 2006
Your rights
A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.
That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 3 May 2006.
To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.
Manufacturer contact
Owners may contact ricon customer support dept. At 800-322-2884 or owners may contact thomas bus customer support office at 336-889-4871.
Official source
- Manufacturer's recall number
- FL-473
- Recalling manufacturer
- FREIGHTLINER LLC
- Recall initiated by
- MFR
Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Additional notes
Freightliner recall no. FL-473.CUSTOMERS may contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty: 1-800-424-9153); or go to http://www.safercar.gov.
Check your own vehicle
This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.
A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.